Stag Cable Pattern

In my search for sock patterns, I came across this beautiful Baratheon sock pattern inspired by Game of Thrones. I instantly fell in love with the cable pattern, but soon realized that I would be unable to use it since most of my work is done from bottom up while the socks are knit from the top down. What followed was literally a mess of yarn and frustration, but I finally had a breakthrough on Saturday! The final result turned out to be quite different from the original cable pattern, but I love mine so much more. Not only is it my own design, but the cables actually turned out to look like stags - the sigil of House Baratheon. Here is the pattern in scarf form for now. I'm planning to incorporate it into a cardigan I'm planning for myself. So many things I want to create, so little time.

Russian Join - A Life Changer

I don't know about all you knitters and crocheters (sp?) out there, but weaving in loose ends is the bane of my existence. Especially for large project that frequently requiring joining new yarn. In the wee hours of the morning I stumbled across the Russian Join, god's gift to all yarn crafters. Its quite a simple technique in which you graft two ends of yarn together to make a pretty seamless join. 

Once the join is made and pulled tight, the loose ends are trimmed, then it's back to working on that scarf (or whatever is on your needles / hook at the moment). Life has been changed for the better. Good bye annoying loose ends. Check out Very Pink Knit's clear, concise tutorial on the Russian Join.

Orange French toast recipe

Sunday at the Yeaman house doesn't officially start until we have our brunch at noon. If I was to run on autopilot, we might end up eating extremely unhealthy (although equally delicious) foods every week, like..... Bacon French toast. In an effort to cook a bit healthier for the family, I've been trying to come up with healthier recipes for brunch. Last week it was chocolate chip pancakes with all butter replaced with coconut oil. This week, I came up with Orange cinnamon French toast. The healthy kick is that it is cooked in fragrant coconut oil, which is often lauded for its health benefits. 

My original plan was to make completely plain French toast, but I saw an abandoned orange completely missing its peel. Hubby had stripped it for the zest to add to his beer recipe. In order to not let it die in vain, I decided to juice it up and add it to the batter. The result? Let's just say baby loved it so much that she tried to simultaneously shove 4 pieces of it in her mouth. 

Recipe:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

4 slices of bread

Coconut oil for cooking

1. Gently whisk eggs until yolk and white are mostly combined. Add milk, vanilla, and orange juice, whisking between ingredients. 

2. Add cinnamon and cloves. Whisk again. 

3. Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in pan to medium high heat. 

4. Dip one slice of bread into egg mixture. Flip so both sides are covered. 

5. Fry in coconut oil for 2-3 minutes each side, or until a golden brown char appears on both sides. 

6. Top with your toppings of choice and serve! I chose whipped cream and some maple syrup, but chocolate chips would work well, too.